Indian Women's Hockey Team Captain Savita Ready to Face Stronger Foes in Ranchi

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The FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifier Ranchi 2024 is set to take place in January of next year, and India will compete against New Zealand, the United States, and Italy in the group stage.

After a successful campaign in the Jharkhand Women's Asian Champions Trophy Ranchi 2023, Captain Savita said that the Indian Women's Hockey Team is not afraid to take on harder opponents at the next FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifier Ranchi 2024, which is set to be held in Ranchi from January 13 to January 19.

Eight national teams will participate in the forthcoming competition to guarantee their berths at the Olympics in Paris: Germany, Japan, Chile, Czech Republic, New Zealand, United States, Italy, and India. There are two pools in which the Indian Women's Hockey Team is paired with the United States, Italy, Japan, and Chile; Pool A is occupied by the Czech Republic, Germany, and Japan.

Every team in their respective group will play every other team once during the Pool stage of the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifier Ranchi 2024. The top two teams from each group will next advance to the Semi-Finals, which are set for January 18th. The 19th of January is scheduled for the Final and the match for third and fourth place. Notably, qualifying for the Paris Olympics will be guaranteed for the teams who place first through third in the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifier Ranchi 2024.

Regarding the impending competition, Indian Captain Savita stated, "We are confident in our abilities, and the rankings of opposing teams don't faze us as we are ready to face all the tough teams that will be coming to India for the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifier Ranchi 2024."
"We played Germany in July, so we know what we're up against," she remarked in response to a question on the likelihood of running into Germany in a later round of the competition.

Chief Coach Janneke Schopman confirmed Savita's assurance, stating that the Jharkhand Women's Asian Champions Trophy Ranchi 2023, where they overcame Japan, China, Korea, Malaysia, and Thailand without a loss, offered a wealth of lessons.

"We had a lot of success, but we can always do better in certain areas. We must utilise our recommendations more effectively and steer clear of pointless cards. Similar to this, we have to improve at creating opportunities while playing against tight defences because many clubs that employ our aggressive style of play have 11 players behind their 25-yard line', she continued.

"This competition demonstrated our strength as a team. Thus, we'll keep our attention on ourselves, search for methods to get better, and do everything in our power to get ready for the 2024 FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifier in Ranchi. We are back on track and need to keep doing the right things to go to the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifier Ranchi 2024 after the Jharkhand Women's Asian Champions Trophy Ranchi 2023. We have experience playing in the FIH Pro League against the United States and New Zealand, but most of all, Janneke Schopman said, "I am excited to take on these challenging opponents at home.

At the Paris 2024 Olympics, hosts France, Australia, the Netherlands, China, Argentina, and South Africa will be joined by the top three teams from both the Ranchi and Valencia, Spain qualifiers. The highest-ranked team competing in the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifier Ranchi 2024 is Germany, with a ranking of fifth. After Chile at number 14, Japan at number 11, the United States at number 15, Italy at number 19, and the Czech Republic at number 25, New Zealand is placed ninth.

In the meantime, the Indian Women's Hockey Team has returned to its highest-ever position of sixth in the world following their triumph in the Jharkhand Women's Asian Champions Trophy Ranchi 2023. The Indian Eves will have the reassurance of home support when they compete in the FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifier Ranchi 2024, which is scheduled to take place at the same location.

"The encouragement we got in Ranchi gave us more strength. Sometimes the home fans might be an additional strain, but we were psychologically ready. Janneke counselled us to seize these uncommon opportunities as they don't happen often. We had to put on a show for the large number of Ranchi locals that showed there, and we couldn't disappoint them. The squad is aware that we will have the same support at the Ranchi 2024 FIH Hockey Olympic Qualifier, and if people come to cheer us on, we have a duty to return the favour," the captain said.